Joan Laporta revealed today that Samuel Eto’o will remain at Barça. Laporta also confirmed that Ronaldinho and Frank Rijkaard will also be here.
There was a strict warning from Laporta that most will interprete as being directed at the Cameroon striker. “We can not tolerate any anomalous behaviour.” This is thought to be a call to order to Eto’o after his controversial comments in February. Eto’o called coach Rijkaard “a bad person” in reply to Rijkaard’s suggestion that Eto’o had refused to come on as substitute for five minutes against Racing de Santander. Eto’o, who was just comimg back after his knee injury, claimed that the reason he hadn’t gone on was that he had not had enough time to warm up properly.
Today Laporta put an end to some of the rumours. “Rijkaard will be Barça’s coach next season” and “We want Ronaldinho and Eto’o to stay at the club. Rijkaard thinks the same, and both players have told me they want to continue.”
However, Laporta refused to give the names of any players who will be invited to leave. So far the only player who is definitely leaving is “El Conejo” Saviola. The most likely candidates to join him are Ezquerro, Edmilson and Sylvinho. Close behind them on the possible leaving list are Belletti, Motta, Gudjohnsen and Giuly. These four will probably wait a while to see what offers they are getting. Marquez, Thuram and Oleguer may depend on whether a decent centre-back comes on the market at a reasonable price. The coaches seem happy with Jorquera as second goalkeeper though I personally think we should buy a more experienced back up for Valdes. The rest are almost certain to stay. Some would like a big name like Deco, Eto’o or Ronaldinho to leave but I really can’t see an argument in favour of selling any of them.
Top of the incoming list are still Yaya Toure (Monaco) and Eric Abidal (Olympique Lyonnais), negotiations are thought to be in process. Thierry Henry continues to mentioned. Will Barça increase their offer? Will Arsenal drop the asking price? I have a feeling he won’t come, but he’s in the papers every day. There is also a lot of talk about Roma defender Chivu.
Who’s to say what will happen? One thing’s for sure - it’s going to be a long summer of transfer rumours.
8 responses so far ↓
Phil Martyn // Jun 19, 2007 at 16:47
Btw, nice re-design. I can’t believe Laporta et al. want to keep Rijkaard. Tactically he’s naive (seems like a nice bloke though) and never seems to have a clue what his best side is. And we won’t mention the suicide formation against RM in the Camp Nou. . Also since the departure of Ten Cate, there doesn’t appear to be a disciplinarian in the dressing room. And I fail to see the contribution Neeskens is making - he remind’s me of a thin Van Gaal - sitting there with a bloody notepad. I’d be sad to see Eto’o go because he’s talented, works hard and contributes greatly to the team. But somebody (if not himself ) needs to keep his inflated ego in line.
The main positive (and it’s looking likely) is that the last time RM fired a winning coach they went into the wilderness for a few years. Here’s hoping.
nic // Jun 19, 2007 at 18:50
I think Rijkaard deserves another chance. Yes, he made some mistakes and there has been a drop in discipline levels, but last season he won us La Liga and the Champions League. The 3-4-3 was probably a mistake but it worked against Zaragoza in the cup. I think you’re right about Ten Cate and Neeskens. Maybe Frank needs a new right-hand man. What’s Koeman doing next season?
I never believed Eto’o would leave. There’s just some people in and around the club who wanted shot of him.
Derek // Jun 19, 2007 at 22:27
Any word on whether Zambrotta will be staying with the club? I figure he’ll be back with Juventus, but you never know.
Linda // Jun 20, 2007 at 4:48
I’m with those who believe that Rijkaard deserves another chance. He’s in a very difficult position, especially in regards to discipline issues involving stars like Ronaldinho, and the various factions within the club who aren’t exactly always supportive.
Personally, I think what we really need is a world class defensive midfielder, first and foremost, especially if Edmilson and Motta are being booted out. None of the names being bandied about for that position have impressed me so far (Tiago? really?).
(Hi, love the new design.)
nic // Jun 20, 2007 at 17:44
No word on Zambrotta, but I see no reason why he wouldn’t stay at Barça.
Eto’s not going to Liverpool or Arsenal / Barcelona player-by-player season review | Soccerlens - Football News Blog // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:06
[…] Laporta emphasizes that Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Rijkaard will stay at Barcelona for next season. If they do, good on Barcelona but nothing is certain in football and at the end of […]
nathan // Jun 25, 2007 at 13:47
does anyone know wat is happening with eto’o, if he is going to stay at barca or move to AC Milan or Arsenal?
tala joseph azeh // Sep 4, 2007 at 15:03
please I need samuel etoh website so that I can commnicate with him
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